Crash helmet



J. N. M MURRY Sept. 1,1959

CRASH HELMET Filed July 10, 1957 INVENTOR c z/eey,

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United States Patent CRASH mzmmr John N. McMurry, Hawthorne, Calif., assignor to Frederick F. Welsh, Hawthorne, Calif.

This invention relates to protective helmets and particularly to helmets having a rigid, protective outer shell and which are known as crash helmets.

. In order that the outer shell of av crash helmet be serviceable in intercepting a hard blow directed at the head of the wearer and dissipate the 'force of this blow, thereby minimizing its effect on the wearer, it is necessary that the shell be spaced a substantial distance from the skull of the wearer.

When travelling at high speeds in the open air, as in race driving or crop dusting, the wearing of a crash helmet has come to be standard procedure. The necessary spacing of the helmet shell from the wearers head, however, has tended to give fumes, chemicals and dust access to the space between the helmet and the head which is uncomfortable and sometimes sets up a severe irritation of the scalp. In cold weather the mere admission of the air itself between the helmet and the scalp is a source of discomfort.

It is, accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a crash helmet which not only protects the head from injury by severe blows directed thereagainst, but also substantially excludes an air stream of high velocity from admission to the space between the head and the helmet.

The manner of accomplishing the foregoing objects, as well as further objects and advantages, will be made manifest in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which- Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the invention showing this as it appears when worn, with a pair of goggles also applied to the head of the wearer.

Fig. 2 is a front, elevational view of the helmet shown in Fig. l with the helmet empty but with the flexible parts of the helmet shaped as when the helmet is being worn.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged vertical, sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2.

Referring specifically to the drawings, the invention is there illustrated as embodied in a crash helmet which has been especially designed for use by race drivers and crop clusters.

The helmet 10 includes a thin, hard shell 11 which is shaped to follow the general contour of the head of the wearer while being spaced a substantially uniform distance from the wearers skull to make room for a foam plastic cushion 12 which is cemented to the inner face of the shell and includes a top section 13, a back section 14 and a front section 15.

The shell 11 has a face opening 16 and a neck opening 17, which openings unite at the front end of the neck opening and at the bottom end of the face opening.

The neck opening 17 is provided with a stuffed padding 18, having a leather envelope 19, the free edges of which are sewed to the shell 11 as by stitching 20. Secured to the inner face of the shell 11 at circumferentially spaced points about the head of the wearer are webbing straps 25 and 26 which come together above the head ICCv of the wearer inside the cushion 12 and are united by a string 27 passed through loops in the uper ends of said straps. These straps 25 and 26 thus provide a harness which embraces the head of the wearer and supports the helmet 10 with the shell 11 thereof in spaced relation with the skull of the wearer.

Overlapping a marginal area of the shell 11 bordering the face opening 16 and secured to said shell as by stitching 28 is a flexible adapter shield 29 which is preferably formed of lightweight leather and extends inwardly from all portions of said shell face opening to produce within said shield a smaller face opening 30. The shield 29 thus constitutes an adapter for making a close, sealed, airtight connection between the face opening 16 of the shell 11 and the forehead, temples and checks of the face of the wearer.

The lower edge portions 31 of the flexible shield 29 extend inside the shell 11 to form anchor pads which are secured to the shell 11 as by rivets 32 and 33. Sewed at one pair of ends to the anchor pads 31 and secured at their opposite ends by rivets 34 to the shell 11, are webbing straps 35 whereby these straps form loops which, before straps 35 are secured, are passed through buckles 36. These buckles receive leather straps 40 provided at opposite ends of a leather sling pocket 41 which is adapted to receive the point of the chin of the wearer. By adjusting the straps 40 and the buckles 36 the chin pocket 41 may be tightened to apply the desired degree of pressure on the chin of the wearer to secure the helmet 10 on the head as shown in Fig. l.

The interior of the helmet 10 is provided with a soft flexible lining 42 which is preferably made of soft leather gores sewed together to fit front and side portions of the cavity of the helmet. This lining has a front opening which is identical with that of the shield face opening 30 and is secured to said shield as by stitchings 43. The soft leather lining 42 protects the face from the roughness of the structural elements covered by this lining and is compressed against the forehead and temples by a lower portion 44 of the front oushion section 15 so as to make a vertical but snug and airtight seal between the upper portion of the shell face opening 16 and the forehead and temples of the face of the wearer.

Helmet 10 is designed for use with a pair of goggles, which may be of any desired type, simple flat goggles 50, having a securing elastic band 51, being shown in Fig. l, as applied over helmet 10.

The helmet is provided with leather loops 52, the inner ends of which are secured against the outer face of helmet shell 11 by rivets 33, the heads of these rivets being shaped to receive snap fasteners 53 provided at the" outer ends of loops 52. These loops may thus be opened or closed at will, and serve as keepers for the elastic band 51 of goggles 50.

It is to be noted (Figs. 2 and 3) that the lower edge of the frontal cushion section 15 is shaped to conform to the upper outline of goggles 50 but not to extend under said goggles. Thus the goggles, when applied, compress the portions of flexible shield 29 and soft lining 42, marginal to the shield face opening 30, between the goggle weather stripping 55 and the face of the wearer of the helmet.

This action of the goggles forms a seal between the shield 29 and the face which is perfected by the presence of the cushion portion 44 closely conforming to the upper outline of the goggles. This cushion portion acts as a soft packing which snugs the lining 42 against the face just outwardly of the goggle contour, by virtue of the inward compression by the goggles of the shield 29 and lining 42 against the face.

The helmet 10 of the invention is thus seen to not only combine the advantages of providing skull protection from crashshocks, and excluding high velocity air currents and irritants borne thereby from the space between the head and the helmet, but it accomplishes these objects in a helmet which is very comfortable to wear.

Whfleonly a single embodiment of the invention is disclosed herein for illustrative purposes, it is to be understood-that various modifications may be made in this without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claim.

I claim: 1

Ida crash helmet, the combination of: a thin shell of light,stifi material adapted to receive the head of the wearer and allow a substantial space intervening between the head and said shell, there being a face opening at the front of said shell and a neck opening at the bottom of said shell to form head and jaw covering portions, said openings joining at a transverse line just forward of and below the jaw covering portions; means for padding the edge of said neck opening; foam plastic cushion means lining the interior of said shell; webbing harness means secured to the inner face of said shell at circumferentially spaced points about the wearers head, said harness means being adapted to extend upwardly and over said head inside said cushion means to support said helmet shell in spaced relation with the top of said head; a' flexible shield, substantially impervious to air, overlapping and secured to said shell around the complete periphery of the edge of said shell face opening to make an airtight connection with said shell, said shield extendirrg a substantial distance into said face opening and below the juncture of said neck and face openings whereby when said helmet is applied said shield presents a restricted face opening which is disposed inwardly a sub stantial distance from said shell face opening, and said shield, at the edge of said restricted face opening, is adapted to snugly embrace the forehead, temples and cheeks of the wearer including an upper marginal portion of the face area generally covered by goggles] and chin strap means secured to said shell adjacent to the points of juncture of said neck and face openings to secure the helmet in place on the. head of the wearer and hold the lower portions of said flexible shield snugly against the cheeks of the wearer.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Bates Oct. 18, 1927 

